The Exchange Student
by Silverviolinist
Summary: Fifteen year old Catharines life has just changed. Her schooling at The Salem Academy is over as she has just been accepted into the international Magic Student Exchange Program. AU. Takes place during Harrys 3rd year.
1. Default Chapter

"You've got to be kidding!"  
  
"No, we are not. The academy has given you the chance to study in England, "  
  
Alexander McKenna said in an exhausted voice. For the last hour he had been trying (unsuccessfully) to convince his daughter that she had been accepted into the International Magic Exchange Student Program.  
  
"Dad, they sent a letter last week saying that I wasn't accepted. They cant have changed their minds."  
  
"Well they did. And you are in." "Really?"  
  
"Really."  
  
"You aren't kidding then?"  
  
"No. I'm not. Catharine, I do not joke around when it comes to serious situations like these," Alex stared at his daughter, his grey eyes meeting her golden brown.  
  
"Wow..," Catharine said sinking into a chair nearby. "Wow, I cant believe it. Your joking."  
  
"Catharine, " her father warned.  
  
"All right, all right. I believe you. So, Im not going back to Salem this year?"  
  
"No," Alex said, sitting down in a chair beside his daughters. He was amazed at how bad she was taking this. After all, she was fifteen years old, a fifth year at the Salem Academy, the top school for magical learning in the United States. "You are going to." he stopped and pulled a letter out of his pocket, opened it and read:  
  
" Dear Miss McKenna, You have been accepted into the International Magic Exchange Student Program. You, along with five other youths from the Salem Academy will be spending the school year at one of three prestigious magical institutes located around Europe: Beauxbatons in France, Durmstrang in Bulgaria or Hogwarts in Scotland. You have a choice to which of three schools you wish to attend. Included with this letter are the supply and craft lists for each of the schools. Please owl us with your decision no later than July 2nd. Thank you.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Boris Thorosip"  
  
Alex watched his daughter run her hand through her long brown hair.  
  
"Wow..so dad, where do you want me to go?" she said hesistantly.  
  
"Uh uh, this is your decision. Take a look at these lists. Your mother had a pen pal who attended Beauxbatons, and Ive heard only good things from Brown about Hogwarts." Brown was a man who worked in the International Magic Cooperation office. He had been a friend of Alex's for a long time and had been the one who had told Catharine about the Exchange Program.  
  
" Well, Beauxbaton's has excellent charm classes, according to this paper, but it lacks in Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Durmstrang teaches nothing but Dark Arts and well, looks like Hogwarts is the best choice for me," she said grinning. "Ill go owl the Program with my decision." She scanned down at the letter. "Says we need to get all the proper supplies for Hogwarts by August 30. Term starts on September 1st. Kings Cross Station. Platform.." She looked up, with a confused look. "Platform 9 ¾." She stood up and set the letter down on the coffee table.  
  
"Better use Orion. Pegasus still is sick." Catharine nodded and went into the other room. There was a loud hooting, the sound of a window being opened and then silence. Catharine returned a few minutes later looking a bit harassed.  
  
"Pegasus is feeling a lot better. When I went to tie the letter on Orions leg, he grabbed it in his beak and set off." She sat down in her chair. "And Orion flew out after him."  
  
"They'll be back within the week. Those two. I swear.", Alex said not looking up from the paper he was now reading.  
  
"Dad?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Can I take Orion with me when I go to Hogwarts?"  
  
"Look at your paper. Does it say you can bring an owl?"  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"Well, he's yours now. An early birthday present."  
  
"I turned 15 last week."  
  
"Oh well. A late birthday present. And don't bother me anymore. I need to figure out when we cant get to London to buy your supplies." Catharine nodded and left the room. As she went upstairs she could hardly contain herself. It was too good to be true. Ever since she had first heard about the Program she had been wanting to go. And when she had gotten the letter saying that all the slots were filled she was heartbroken. But now she was off to Hogwarts. And she had an owl!  
  
Catharine opened the door to her bedroom and flopped on the bed. She reached over to the bookshelf beside it and selected a volume entitled Appraisal of School in Europe. Her father had given it to her for her birthday. She flipped to the table of contents and then to the section for Hogwarts. It gave her a brief description of what the school excelled in, what it lacked and a page about the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.  
  
"Dumbledore." She said to herself. "Bit of a funny name." Suddenly the telephone in the hallway rang. She jumped off her bed and ran to it.  
  
"Hello, McKenna residence."  
  
"Hello? Catharine? Is that you?"  
  
"Yes..who is this?"  
  
"Aw, don't remember your old pal Colin? Im hurt. And I walked all the way up to the muggle village so I could call you on this confounded thing."  
  
"Well now I can owl you. Dad's given me Orion."  
  
"That's wonderful. So, anything exciting happened with you? Looking forward to the start of the school year?"  
  
"Um, Colin, Im not going to Salem this year." There was a pause, a sound as if the phone had been dropped then;  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
"Calm down. Im just going to Hogwarts."  
  
"Hogwarts? What the hell is that?"  
  
"It's a magical school in Scotland. Supposed to be one of the best in Europe." It took Catharine the better part of an hour to calm Colin down.  
  
"All right, well I hope your doing the right thing. Ill owl you tonight. "  
  
"Bye Colin."  
  
"Bye."  
  
Catharine hung up the phone and went into her bedroom once more. She yawned and lay down her bed, barely noticing when she drifted asleep.  
  
AUGUST 16th The streets of London were crowded the day that Alex and Catharine arrived. Catharine had pleaded with her dad to use the Floo Network but Alex would have none of it. Being muggle born, he liked to get back to his roots once in a while by using the bus. Finally, they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron where they were met by Alex's friend Luke. Alex handed Catharine a handful of muggle money to go exchange at Gringotts and sat down with Luke for a beer. They were chatting about taxes when she left. Tom, the innkeeper, was nice enough to show her into Diagon Alley. She stepped through the stone alleyway and it closed behind her.  
  
"Woah," were the only words that escaped her mouth. Both sides of the street were covored with shops and people. After exchanging her money, Catharine struggled through the crowds as made her way to a shop called Ollivander's. Once inside, she was relieved to find that it was empty.  
  
"Good lord," she gasped, breathing heavily. She turned to look out the shop window.  
  
"May I help you?" a thin reedy voice asked from behind her, causing her to jump. Catharine spun around and found she was being stared at by a tall, old man with pale eyes.  
  
"Um.yes..what do you sell?" The man stared at her as if she were crazy. He lifted his hand and indicated to the walls of the shop which were covored in wand boxes.  
  
"Oh, sorry. I ducked in here to get away from the crowd and didn't really notice your shop. But since Im here I guess Ill get a new wand. My old ones been acing up recently." The man nodded. Ten minutes later Catharine emerged from the shop with a long thin box. She looked down at her supply list once more. She would need a lot of books, but one look at the line outside of a shop called Flourish and Blotts and she decided that the books could wait until another day. She followed the alley down a bit until she came to a place called Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. She looked down at the list and found that Hogwarts students wore black robes. She scanned it again.  
  
"I guess all years at Hogwarts have the same robes." She said thinking about Salem's uniforms. "I guess my new blue robes will have to serve as dress robes." She entered the shop and looked around at all the different colored robes. A short, plump witch greeted her cheerfully.  
  
"Hogwarts, dearie?"  
  
"Yes, Ma'am," Catharine said matching the witch's grin. The witch wasted no time. She pulled out a silver measuring tape and started taking Catharine's measurements, all the while telling Catharine about the quality of the robes.  
  
"Do you buy robes? Or, would you like some robes?" Catharine interrupted. "I bought some robes for my term at the Salem Academy before I found out I was going to Hogwarts."  
  
"Oh yes. We do buy robes. How many sets do you have? We pay 5 galleons per set."  
  
"I have 4 sets. I am not really good at potions and sort of go through robes rather quickly." Soon, Catharine had bought her school robes and had returned to the Leaky Cauldron. She dropped off her purchases and brought her blue robes back to Madam Malkin who payed her 20 galleons. With money in her pocket she set off back towards the Leaky Cauldron. It was mostly empty except for her father who was sitting alone at a table reading a newspaper called The Daily Prophet.  
  
"Dad? Where are we going to stay?"  
  
"Catharine, we are not staying anywhere. You are staying here. The innkeeper has generously offered to watch out for you." He set his newspaper down. "You will room here until September 1st. Then you will take a cab to Kings Cross Station at 8 o'clock, arrive at 8:30 and board the train at 9."  
  
"And your really trusting me with all this?"  
  
"Yes. However I feel it necessary to make two rules. The first one is that you may not go out into muggle London until September 1st. The second is that you must stay to Diagon Alley. Do not wander onto any of the other connecting alleys. Do I make myself clear?"  
  
"Crystal," Catharine said disbelieving. Alex stood up and kissed his daughter on the cheek.  
  
"That's a good girl. Ive left 30 galleons in your room, room 13, for emergencies and have had all your belongings placed in your room. I'll see you at Christmas." Alex strode across the room and towards the door. In a moment, he was gone. 


	2. The Train Ride

September 1st  
  
There was a loud rapping at the door and Catharine bolted straight up.  
  
"Time ta wake up young McKenna," said Tom in a loud voice. Catharine cleared her head of sleepiness and looked at her watch laying on the bedside table. 8:30.  
  
"Oh lord. Ive got to be at King's Cross in half an hour." She whispered, disbelieving. She pulled the blankets off her legs and opened her trunk, throwing on a simple white shirt and a pair of jeans. She pulled her hair back in a messy ponytail and dragged trunk, and owl downstairs. Five minutes later she was back upstairs finding the things that she had forgotten. "Need to get myself a remembrall." She muttered over and over. A horn honked outside and Catharine ran downstairs again. She bid Tom farewell and dragged her belongings out to the cab that Tom had called. She placed her stuff in the trunk, slapped twenty pounds in the drivers hand, and they were speeding off towards King's Cross.  
  
They arrived at the station at 9:10. Catharine pulled her trunk out of the back of the cab, grabbed Orion and dragged the two things towards the barrier between Platforms 9 ¾. She looked around, trying to see if she would be noticed, and took off at a run. The heavy trunk weighed her back a considerable amount but she made it through the barrier. She smiled and stowed away her trunk. All around the Platform, parents were hugging their children goodbye, and for once, Catharine felt homesick.  
  
"Don't get yourself worked up," she said quietly. She didn't speak to anyone and nervously found an empty compartment. Catharine wasn't what one would consider 'pretty'. She wore oval glasses, had normal brown hair that was normally in a ponytail and in all wasn't anything spectacular. In fact, she had gone through her entire fourth year without her History of Magic teacher knowing her name. She was shy and only had two true friends. But one lived in Boston and the other in Ireland. And neither of them attended the Salem Academy.  
  
"Come on Fred. Don't drop it," said someone outside of her compartment. The next second the door swung open and two redheaded boys holding a box stepped in.  
  
"Who are you?" one of them asked.  
  
"My name is Catharine McKenna. If it matters that much," she said primly, trying to keep herself from falling apart. The boys looked confused. "Im a fifth year and exchange student from America. I believe that is all. Who are you?" There was a pause and then, "Im Fred Weasley and this is my brother George. Er.it was nice to meet you, we are gonna go." The two boys left, leaving Catharine alone again. Ten minutes later, more voices were heard. A girl with red hair and a boy with brown walked in and took their seats, paying no notice of Catharine.  
  
"As it should be," she said quietly. Above her head, Orion started to hoot loudly. The train let out a shrill whistle and it started to move. Orion batted his wings against the cage and Catharine sighed. She got up and let him out of his cage. He had come to the Leaky Cauldron two weeks after she had arrived. Pegasus had obviously been the victor of their little brawl for the letter. He flew around the cabin once to stretch his wings and then perched close to the boy's head. He looked over at Catharine.  
  
"Oh, look Ginny, there's someone else here. Hello." The girl called Ginny scowled and looked over.  
  
"Hello. Who are you," Catharine said.  
  
"Im Ginny Weasley, and this is,"  
  
"Neville Longbottom," the boy finished.  
  
"Oh what houses are you in?"  
  
"We are both Gryffindors, but Im in my second year and he's in his third. Who are you?" Ginny said very quickly.  
  
"Oh, Im Catharine McKenna. Im new here. But not a first year. Im going into fifth year. Im an exchange student from the Salem Academy in Salem, Massachusetts."  
  
"Oh. What house do you think you'll be in?" said Neville, a bit startled at his willingness to speak to someone new.  
  
"I think Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. But probably Ravenclaw. Ive heard that those who are really studious go in Ravenclaw."  
  
"Oh but not all of them. Hermione Granger is the best of our year and she is in Gryffindor." Said Neville again.  
  
"Whose Hermione Granger?" Catharine said but was cut off by the sound of the compartment door opening. A blond haired boy followed by two big dark haired boys filled the doorway.  
  
"Hermione Granger is a meddling mud-blood. You cant miss her. Loads of brown hair. Huge teeth. Always hanging around Potty and Weasel," the blond haired boy said in an oily voice. Ginny stood up and took out her wand.  
  
"Go away, Malfoy." She said her teeth gritted. Neville and Catharine stood up at the same time.  
  
"Oh, look. Isnt it cute. A Weasley standing up for her family. It's rude to speak out of turn, girl. Let me teach you some manners." He said smirking. He whipped out his wand, muttered something, and immediately, thick white cords bound Ginny and gagged her. Malfoy turned to face Neville and Catharine, wand still extended. "Gonna do something about it, Longbottom. Wait, better not. Might hurt your friend there."  
  
"Im worth ten of you, Malfoy." Neville said, his face turning pale.  
  
"Oh keep right on saying that Longbottom, and maybe one day someone will believe it." Malfoy laughed. Neville let out a whimper and sat down, casting a helpless look upon Ginny. Malfoy turned to leave.  
  
"Expelliarmus," Catharine yelled. Draco's wand shot up into the air and Catharine caught it. "Not so funny, now is it boy." Malfoy spun around and glared at her.  
  
"You'll pay for this." He made a grab for the wand, but Catharine held it above his head. Suddenly the train started to slow. It stopped completely and Catharine dropped her arm. Malfoy made no attempt to grab his wand. "What in bloody hell is going on?" he hissed. The two boys behind him shook their heads. Suddenly the lights flickered and left them in darkness. Catharine could hear Malfoy and his cronies leave the compartment and enter the one beside theirs. Suddenly the compartment door opened again and Catharine was plunged into cold. She couldn't see or hear anything for a minute. Then a white light gathered intensity and filled her vision. Her mother stood in front of a door, which after a minute, Catharine recognized as the one in their house back home. Car keys were dangling from the hand grabbing the handle.  
  
"I'm going to go to the bookstore for a moment, Alex. Ill be back soon. Cat, come kiss mom goodbye," she said in a light, almost whispering voice. Catharine could see her younger self run up and kiss her mother.  
  
"Be careful, Momma," she said, in her childish voice. Her mother smiled and walked out of the door. A blue light surrounded the white light and engulfed it. The scene shifted. A policeman stood in the doorway. Outside, the lights from his car reflected off the mirror in the hallway. The man stepped inside their house, face grim. He said something to Alex who staggered backwards. He started to sob and slid to the ground. The police man looked up at the stairs, his eyes met Catharine's and she saw the hopelessness and loss in them.  
  
"Catharine. Sit down, Catharine. Your scaring us." The voice jerked Catharine back to the real world. She sat down and adjusted her glasses. The lights were back on and Catharine could see two people she didn't recognize. Neville and Ginny were nowhere to be seen. Two red headed boys. Who are they? She struggled to find their names. Suddenly it hit her.  
  
"Fred? George?" She said weakly. They nodded. "Wha.What happened?"  
  
"Dementors. They got on the train. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle came into our compartment. Neville and Ginny ran off to another. We didn't hear you leave and when the Dementors came in." Fred trailed off.  
  
"We heard you yell 'No' and then everything went silent. So after they left we came into see if you were alright. And you were standing here in the middle of the floor, all pale and rigid..it was rather frightening." George finished. Fred nodded in agreement.  
  
"I..I saw my mom..car.night.police." she murmured. Fred and George exchanged glances.  
  
"Look, we'll be at Hogwarts soon. Why don't we go find someone to help you. Alright?" Catharine nodded. The two boys left the compartment, returning ten minutes later with an adult. The minute the man entered Catharine stopped breathing.  
  
"Daddy?" she said quietly to herself. He looked so much like her father it was uncanny. But a second glance revealed the man to have lived a much harder life. His light brown hair was graying and he looked exhausted. His eyes however, were alert. Just like dad's always are. Or used to be. She shook her head to clear the thoughts.  
  
" These two young men here told me you need some assistance?" The man said in a kind but hoarse voice. He handed her a large piece of chocolate. "This will help with the effects of the dementor." Catharine shook her head.  
  
"Sorry, sir. I cant have chocolate. Im allergic to it. It makes me sick." The man nodded understandingly.  
  
"You will have to go to Madam Pomfrey when we arrive." He started to leave but looked at her curiously. "When you have time this week, come see me in my office."  
  
The rest of the trip was uneventful. Fred and George sat with her and the three talked about America. The twins were most interested when she started talking about the American versions of Filibuster's Fireworks. The train stopped and the twins helped her off.  
  
"Will you be alright?" Fred asked. "You can ride with us up to the castle. You still look a bit weak." Catharine smiled.  
  
"Thanks." She charmed Orion back into his cage and then followed the twins into one of the horseless carriages. Once in, the doors snapped shut and the carriage made its way towards the castle. 


End file.
